Political Wisdom: Muslims and Feminists

Time magazine weighs in the topic du jour: Does America have a Muslim problem? Bobby Ghosh writes:

Islamophobia in the U.S. doesn’t approach levels seen in other countries where Muslims are in a minority. But to be a Muslim in America now is to endure slings and arrows against your faith — not just in the schoolyard and the office but also outside your place of worship and in the public square, where some of the country’s most powerful mainstream religious and political leaders unthinkingly (or worse, deliberately) conflate Islam with terrorism and savagery. In France and Britain, politicians from fringe parties say appalling things about Muslims, but there’s no one in Europe of the stature of a former House Speaker who would, as Newt Gingrich did, equate Islam with Nazism.

At The Huffington PostRobert Scheer contends that the real threat is how the debate may affect our national security:

Are the Republicans terminally stupid or are they just playing the dangerous fool? In either case, the irrational attack on Muslims everywhere by the GOP’s leadership is not only deeply subversive with regard to the American ideal of religious tolerance, but also poses a profound threat to our national security. Nor does it help that some top Democrats like Harry Reid are willing to demean Muslims even as we fight two wars in which victory depends on our ability to convey a respect for their religion. Just ask Gen. David Petraeus, who is leading the war without end to win the hearts and minds of Muslims in Afghanistan, how helpful it is to the Taliban for American politicians to identify all Muslims with terrorism. Or to the theocratic leaders of Iran who justify their hard line with the insistence that the U.S. is obsessively anti-Muslim. Demonization of the Muslim religion is what this brouhaha is all about. Talk of the sensitivity of the victims of 9/11, ignoring those who were Muslim, is just camouflage.

Sarah Palin‘s endorsement of female candidates and wooing of women voters is reigniting the conversation on feminism. Ruth Conniff at The Progressive writes:

Is Sarah Palin’s feminism real? Her supporters seem to think so. Like Phyllis Schlafly before her, Palin promotes a vision of true womanhood that works for her but is not exactly transferable to her less fortunate sisters. Still, Palin’s “feminism” is not meaningless because it clearly means a lot to her base. It shows how conservative women’s image of themselves has evolved, and how ideas like working motherhood and fathers who help at home—along with a Title IX image of female strength—have completely transformed the culture.

However, she does make one reasonable point—when anyone (liberals or conservatives) creates a feminist litmus test, it cuts off the possibility of real, fruitful discussion….In the meantime, I think liberals must cede this round in the debate to the sassy Ms. Palin. The Emily’s List video wasn’t gathering liberals around an electrifying idea—it was attempting to co-opt Palin’s very effective rallying cry. As Hanna said yesterday, Palin gets to be the cool one in this situation, the one the other ladies are sweating.

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Capital Journal is WSJ.com’s unique site for analysis of the political and policy maneuvering in Washington in the era of Barack Obama. It features the Capital Journal columns and occasional other postings by executive Washington editor Gerald F. Seib, and will house Political Wisdom, the Journal’s daily aggregation of the smartest political analysis from around the Internet. Also look for regular columns by Peter Brown of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute and occasional contributions from others.